YourJewishnews.com reports: Hasidic anti-Zionist sect. Satmar has found a new unique way to influence the elections, by paying voters not to vote, according to press reports.
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish Satmar Hasidic sect, said it will give a cash bonus to any yeshiva that does not participate in the January 22 general elections in Israel, and refuses to accept government grants, a local Israeli newspaper reported.
The majority of yeshiva students vote under the direction of their rabbis, and usually will stay home if instructed to do so by the head of the institution where they study.
According to the report, Satmar, has contacted yeshivas in Israel with the offer.
Satmar leader, Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, reportedly will hand out the money during a planned visit to Israel, within two months, shortly after the election.
The report said that the aim of the campaign was to promote the Satmar anti-Zionist ideology, which rejects any cooperation with official institutions of the Jewish state.
